The Carbn Footprint of Aircraft Operations in Australia
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Living with a Plug-in Electric Car in Canberra Driving towards a sustainable ACT Dave Southgate 1 August 2014 FOREWORD The electric car has arrived! After decades of false starts, production models of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) are now globally available from major car manufacturers. They are beautiful to drive and cost very little to run. However, at the moment they cost more to buy and generally have a shorter range than conventional cars. The sales of EVs are growing rapidly around the world – more than 500,000 plug-in EVs have been sold globally over the past three years. To date this revolution has largely passed Australia by. It is exceptional to see a plug-in electric car on the streets in Canberra and the mainstream media in Australia rarely reports on this fundamental transition in the fuelling of the world’s land transport. I have therefore produced this book in an attempt to both raise awareness of the practicalities of owning an EV in Canberra and, probably more importantly, to draw attention to how the advent of the EV provides the ACT with opportunities to establish a sustainable future. The introduction of EVs into Canberra is particularly important given the wonderful strides that the ACT Government has made in introducing renewable energy into the Territory. By 2020 90% of our electricity consumption should be derived from renewables. An electricity sector based on renewables opens up a vision of carbon free urban transport. At the present time the electricity and transport sectors make up about 85% of the ACT carbon footprint – the path to almost total elimination of carbon from these two sectors is now in sight. While this book is focussed on action within the ACT I think much of the material has wider applicability. Many cities and regions around the world are now moving towards carbon neutrality - I imagine the EV has a place in all of these. Dave Southgate Canberra Australian Capital Territory (ACT) August 2014 ________________________________________________ Disclaimer The author has no commercial interests in the electric vehicle or renewable energy industries. He is self-funded and has produced this document purely in pursuit of a personal wish to see society adopt more sustainable transport options. Cover Photo: A Leaf among leaves – Parliament House, Canberra ©dsouthgate 2014 Any material in this document may be freely reproduced and distributed without acknowledgement. 2 SNAPSHOT Is Canberra a Good Place to Own an Electric Vehicle? Absolutely! I don’t think I’ll ever go back to owning a conventional petrol car. An electric car makes an ideal city car for the Canberra resident. Electric cars are great to drive and ‘filling up’ at home is extremely convenient. Why Electric Vehicles? Electric vehicles are rapidly being introduced around the world. There are three key drivers: climate change air quality energy security Advances in battery technology mean electric vehicles are now economic and practical. Key Information For many motorists the life cycle costs of owning an electric car (EV) are now likely to be less than for owning a petrol car. An EV costs more to buy than a conventional car but the fuel costs are less. I estimate that after about 10 years the total costs for my EV will be the same as if I’d bought a petrol car. On average I travel about 40km/day in my EV which is about 15,000km/year. Two hours of charging for my car provides about 50km range. My electric car uses about 7kWh/day. The annual fuel cost to run my electric car will be around $400 compared to $2,000 for my previous petrol car. The day-to-day minimum range of my car is about 100km – more than enough for a city car in Canberra. I have a 2kW solar PV system which generates around the same amount of energy in a year as my car uses to travel about 15,000km. Sustainable Canberra The ACT Government has adopted a goal of 90% of the Territory’s electricity consumption being sourced from renewables by 2020. By 2018 the transport sector will become the largest component of the ACT’s carbon footprint. The 90% renewables goal underpins climate change action in the electricity sector. The development of a parallel goal for the uptake of electric vehicles could provide a vital stimulus for CO2 management in the transport sector. 3 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 CONTEXT INTRODUCTION Page 5 CHAPTER 2 Page 3CHAPTER 3 Buying and Using Charging the My Car Battery Part I Page 14 Page 22 MY ELECTRIC CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CAR PROJECT My Solar System The Costs Page 29 Page 35 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 Part 2 SUSTAINABLE Role of the EV Action Options CANBERRA Page 44 Page 53 APPENDIX Author Page 62 Page 73 [These are live tiles – click to select] 4 CONTENTS: Snapshot Introduction My Car Battery Solar PV Costs Sustainable ACT Appendix Author Introduction 1.1 The Rebirth of the Electric Vehicle The electric vehicle (EV) has been with us for a long time. In the late 1800s and early 1900s electric powered cars outsold petrol cars but as motoring developed liquid fuelled cars became established due to their greater range and speed of re-fuelling. While petrol and diesel fuels have dominated road vehicles for over a century, during that time electricity has been widely used to power public transport (for example trams and trolley buses) and many attempts have been made to produce workable electric cars.1 Small groups of enthusiasts have continued to use and promote electric cars. In recent years there have been a number of electric vehicle festivals in Canberra which have showcased the latest EV developments. Until recently most electric cars on the road have been conversions of commercial petrol cars. However, in the past three years there has been a dramatic EV renaissance. Advances in battery technology have led to EVs now becoming both technically feasible and affordable. Around 2010, the major car manufacturers began producing, and selling globally, plug-in electric cars. Figure 1.1 shows the trends in global sales of plug-in electric passenger cars since 2009 (this dramatic increase is off a very low base).2 Production electric vehicles are now readily available in many countries and it appears that the EV is transitioning from an enthusiasts’ niche to the mainstream. Global EV sales are currently doubling every year and if these trends continue there will be more than 1,000,000 EVs on world roads by 2016.3 While sales around the world have surged, Australia has not contributed significantly to this trend. Only about 100 EVs were sold to private individuals in Australia in 2013.4 Figure 1.1: Global sales of plug-in electric passenger cars, 2009-2013 1 Electric cars and history. Edison Tech Center: http://www.edisontechcenter.org/ElectricCars.html 2 Driving electrification: A global comparison of fiscal policy for electric vehicles. Figure 1. ICCT. May 2014: http://theicct.org/driving-electrification-global-comparison-fiscal-policy-electric-vehicles 3 Electric car sales have doubled every year for three years. Transport Evolved. April 2014: http://transportevolved.com/2014/04/16/number-electric-cars-world-doubled-past-year-say-academics/ 4 2013 Plug-in EV sales in Australia. InsideEVs: http://insideevs.com/2013-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales-in-australia/ 5 CONTENTS: Snapshot Introduction My Car Battery Solar PV Costs Sustainable ACT Appendix Author 1.2 The Pressures for Change There are many reasons why electric vehicles are now starting to make a comeback. The Box on the next page summarises the key reasons why governments are promoting the transition to EVs. The pressures are varied and different governments clearly place different emphasis on the reasons for wanting to electrify their transport systems. Many individuals, and governments, see the need to address climate change as the main imperative to adopt EVs. However, EV detractors commonly express the view that if an EV is charged from an electricity network based on coal fired generation there may be no, or very small, climate change advantages to using EVs.5 Figure 1.2 captures the essence of this issue.6 The information in this diagram suggests that a petrol car with a fuel efficiency of 8l/100km has the same life cycle carbon footprint as an electric car which is powered by electricity sourced from coal. This is a complex area which is worthy of examination but in the context of the ACT, where the Territory is rapidly moving toward 90% of its electricity being sourced from Figure 1.2: EV carbon footprint – electricity sourced renewables, this does not appear to be a from renewables compared to coal significant issue. While air quality may not be a major driver for the ACT government or residents to opt for EVs, it is a top priority in countries with urban air quality problems. The modern EV has its origins in California where in 1990 the State government mandated that from 2003 10% of all vehicle sales must be zero emissions in order to address air quality issues.7 In China air quality is one of the key political issues of the day (see Figure 1.3)8. In March this year, restrictions were placed on petrol/diesel cars in Paris for some days due to a persistent fog.9 In London Mayor Boris Johnson has recently announced requirements for all London taxis to be zero emission capable from 2018 primarily for air Figure 1.3: Smog over Harbin, China quality reasons.10 5 Electric cars’ benefit to environment not as great as claimed. April 2014: http://www.climatechangedispatch.com/electric-cars-benefit-to-environment-not-as-great-as-claimed.html 6 What’s the greenest car? An extremely short guide to vehicle emissions.